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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Measuring Murray up

Good article and video here by Andy Staples on Aaron Murray getting measured, both by NFL scouts and his own peers.

Murray hopes coaches will judge him more by his 35-17 record and by the way he played when his team needed him most. Can he throw under pressure? Check out this third-and-13 play that sealed the win against South Carolina on Sept. 6. Is he mobile? Check out this run against Tennessee, which came after the Bulldogs had lost nearly every key skill position player on offense to injury except Murray.

Or ask a teammate. Georgia tight end Arthur Lynch is playing for the South team this week, and he came to Athens with Murray in the class of 2009. "He's the epitome of what you'd want as a quarterback," Lynch said. Lynch said Murray had the team's respect in his first game as the starter in 2010, and Lynch said Murray is still earning his respect. "For [goodness] sakes, he's out here and he can't even drop back," Lynch said. "But he's out here taking mental reps and helping quarterbacks who are essentially his competition. He's encouraging me. What else could you ask for?"

Or, better yet, ask an opponent. Former LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow faced Murray between the hedges on Sept. 28. "If I had to pick a word, it would be underrated," said Barrow, whose Tigers lost, 44-41, and gave up four touchdown passes to Murray. "I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country." In the days leading up to the game, Barrow marveled at Murray's pocket poise in watching him on video. When the Tigers saw Murray in person, they still weren't ready for his ability to escape pressure. "He made some plays against us where I thought we had him sacked and then, whoop, it's right over your head," Barrow said.

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